WASHINGTON (NNPA) - The number of African American law school students is at an all-time high, according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. In the 2008-2009 academic year, there were 9,822 Black students attending the nation's 197 accredited law schools. The Journal reported that this was the largest number ever enrolled at U.S. law schools. Since 1972, the number of African Americans enrolled in law school has climbed from approximately 4,000 to nearly 10,000. Black student enrollment in law schools last year increased by 3.5 percent from the 2007-2008 school year and now comprises 6.5 percent of all law school enrollments, a 0.2 increase from the year before. The number of Blacks enrolled as a percentage of total enrollments, however, does not exceed the percentage of Black enrollment witnessed in 2000. In that year Blacks make up 7.1 percent of all law school enrollments, according to the journal. For more information on African Americans and graduate school enrollments visit www.cgsnet.org .